Onex Joins CPP Investment Board-Led Consortium

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Onex Corporation today announced that Onex has joined the consortium formed for the purpose of working with BCE Inc. with regard to a potential transaction to take the publicly-traded company private.

Onex is joining the consortium with the consent of BCE’s Strategic Oversight Committee, a committee of independent directors established on April 20, 2007 to oversee the Company's evaluation of a range of strategic alternatives.

Speaking on behalf of the consortium partners, David Denison, President and CEO, CPP Investment Board, said: “Onex is Canada’s oldest and largest private equity firm and we are very pleased that they have joined our consortium. The addition of Onex strengthens our Canadian-led consortium as it remains focused on the due diligence process for the potential acquisition of an important Canadian organization.”

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to pursue the acquisition of one of Canada’s leading companies with three outstanding partners. We have very strong relationships with every member of this consortium and have partnered with the CPP Investment Board and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec on many prior investments,” added Andrew Sheiner, Managing Director of Onex. “We have built Onex through a focus on long-term value creation and the development of world-class companies, and this philosophy is shared by all members of this consortium.”

“As we evaluate the potential transaction, our intent is to create long-term value for the benefit of our respective beneficiaries and investors,” added Mr. Denison. “Each of the consortium partners is committed to generating strong investment returns with a longterm investment horizon. Further, the CPP Investment Board and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec have very long-term investment mandates to support the pension promise of millions of Canadians. Furthermore, we would still welcome the opportunity to add additional Canadian pension funds to our consortium if permitted by the Strategic Oversight Committee.”

The consortium noted that discussions are ongoing and there can be no assurance that a transaction of any kind will result.

About the CPP Investment Board
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, the CPP Investment Board is currently investing cash flows in publicly traded stocks, private equities, real estate, inflation-linked bonds and infrastructure to balance the legacy government bond portfolio. Based in Toronto, the CPP Investment Board is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At March 31, 2007, the CPP Fund totaled C$116.6 billion. For more information, please visit www.cppib.ca.

About the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is a financial institution that manages funds primarily for public and private pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2006, it held CA$143.5 billion of net assets. As one of the leading institutional fund managers in Canada, the Caisse invests in the main financial markets as well as in private equity and real estate.

About Onex
Onex makes private equity investments through the Onex Partners and ONCAP family of Funds. Onex’s operating companies have annual revenues of $28 billion, assets of $28 billion and 184,000 employees worldwide. These companies are in a variety of industries, including electronics manufacturing services, aerostructures manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, aircraft & aftermarket, metal services, customer management services, theatre exhibition, personal care products and communications infrastructure.

About KKR
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) is one of the world's oldest and most experienced private equity firms specializing in management buyouts. Founded in 1976, it has offices in New York, Menlo Park, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Throughout its history, KKR has brought a long-term investment approach to its portfolio companies, focusing on working in partnership with management teams and investing for future competitiveness and growth. Over the past 30 years, KKR has completed over 150 transactions with an aggregate value of over US$279 billion. (www.kkr.com)